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State's texting ban has been ineffective

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Coincidentally, the Friday
Dispatch article “Does it work?” about Ohio’s texting ban, coincided with the third
anniversary of the death of our 5-year-old granddaughter, Lauren Elizabeth Drummond, at the hands
of a reckless driver.

My son was driving the family minivan on Rt. 40 in Springfield on a sunny day, much like Friday
was. When he and the drivers in the opposing lane stopped to let a deer family cross the road,
Hannah Gough, 22 at the time, plowed into the back of the van doing an estimated 65 mph.

The horrific impact of the crash crushed in the rear third of the van and propelled it 100 yards
down the road, the length of a football field. Even though Lauren was sitting in the middle row of
seats and secured in a child safety seat, she died of brain trauma later that day.

Gough admitted to being distracted at the time of the crash, and her cellphone records showed
she was texting prior to the accident. She agreed to plead guilty to vehicular manslaughter in
exchange for more-serious charges being dropped, and received a very light sentence of 90 days in
jail, with 60 days suspended.

The law is not effective, in my opinion and that of many others. I see people every day who are
texting while driving. I think until they kill someone or have a loved one who is killed by someone
else, they will continue to put their own selfish interests before the safety of themselves and
others.

Lawmakers and the cellphone companies must work together to come up with an effective solution
to this growing danger by disabling cellphones and other handheld devices when a car is in
motion.